


Undercurrents: Allurance Missing Scenes

by halcyonquintants (foxmoon)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene, Pining, Romance, Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-26 02:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15653760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxmoon/pseuds/halcyonquintants
Summary: A collection of missing scenes between Allura and Lance for Voltron season 7. One for each episode to show my take on how they reached a point of mutual pining and affection by the close of the season. Contains spoilers for season 7.





	1. Missing Scene: A Little Adventure

Allura wipes sweat from her brow and tells the others she needs to rest after Shiro recovers. She tries not to let it show, to remain strong in front of her friends, but now that the danger has abated a heaviness settles into her bones. They don’t appear to notice, which is all the better. She exits the black lion and heads for the blue. It doesn’t register until after she’s already removing her paladin gauntlets that she didn’t see Lance with the others. 

_ What’s that about?  _ When did she begin to track his presence, or lack thereof? It’s a question she doesn’t allow to manifest further. She’s too exhausted to make sense of it all.

The bunk in the blue lion is nowhere near the comfort level of her royal bed in the Castle of Lions, but it’s quiet. Blue’s connection falls around her psyche like a gentle blanket, easing her further. As her body rests, her mind wanders as it ever does. About important things like the journey ahead, and sometimes peculiar things - such as how sleeping in the blue lion is like lying underwater and staring up through the currents to a steel grey sky. She’s awash in blue, a color she will always associate with Lance for as long as she lives. There’s a squeezing sensation in her chest at the thought of him. She turns to her side before she begins to consider for too long that he once slept in this same bed during their longer missions away from the castle. 

After a half varga of restlessness, she rises to her feet and heads out to join the others. She still doesn’t see Lance among them, then she spies him off to the side with Shiro. They look as though they’re having a heart-to-heart, so she lingers with Romelle and Coran so as not to disturb them. It’s a private matter between them, one that looks to be a comfort for them both, and so she tries to focus on her fellow Alteans. They’re also in deep conversation, though the subject could hardly be considered as important. 

“Maybe all the sound on Earth is round like their ears,” muses Coran with abundant pantomimes. “Galgoshian vreepols have swirly ears to help them hear all the weird wobbly wind that rushes through the Galgoshian tunnel flats.”

Romelle taps her chin thoughtfully. “Could be. Or through millions of years of evolution, round ears has always been the most attractive to the lot of them.”

Coran makes a warbling sound. “Peculiar indeed.” 

Inevitably, Allura’s attention wanders once more to one certain round-eared human off to the side. His outline is blurred a bit by the dusts that swirl over the rocky landscape, but she knows the shape of him like she knows the Altean constellations. Shiro claps a reassuring hand on Lance’s shoulder and they both stand. Their conversation appears to be drawing to an end. Before she realises it might be presumptuous of her to join them, her feet have found their way over.

Shiro pauses his departure at the sight of her. “Hi Allura, feeling better?” 

“Yes, Shiro, thank you.”

“Good.” He gives her a soft smile and returns to the rest of the group. 

“Allura,” Lance says on an exhale. He rubs his arm absently. “Uh...were you not feeling well?”

“Just a little exhausted from the essence transfer. It also doesn’t help that I have such a difficult time resting in the lion bunks.” 

Concern enters his eyes. “Yeah, they take some getting used to.” 

Allura looks down at her feet as she struggles with a spell of shyness, then returns her attentions back up to him. “What about you, is everything all right out here?”

“Oh, yeah. Shiro wanted to reassure me of some things. It’s incredible what you did by the way.”

“Thank you, but don’t ever feel it’s any more incredible than what you do.”

He blinks, genuinely confounded. “Uhh, what did I do?”

“Oh, you know.” _ Oh, quiznack. _ She’s worked herself into a spot hasn’t she? The compulsion to compliment him in return has just opened up an entire world full of them. Each compliment ties into a knot in her throat. Since when had there been so many? Her heart beats a little faster.

He tilts his head and swallows. He’s waiting for her to name something specific, she can tell. A small smirk draws out the corner of his mouth. “It’s my hug isn’t it. I do give pretty amazing hugs.”

Allura laughs, which she knows is his goal more than anything. But it’s also the the honest truth. She’s moved to match his playfulness. It dispels the nervous energy and rekindles the ease she feels in his orbit.

“I don’t know, you might have to try again sometime so I can be certain.”

Lance doesn’t laugh like she thought he might. Instead, he looks down with warmth coloring his cheeks, and scuffs his foot against the dirt. He does crack a grin, and that relieves her somewhat. 

There’s an outbreak of commotion behind them. The others fret over vague trajectories through the stars and the span of time itself. Allura looks back and forth between them and Lance. “I think everyone is anxious to head out.”

“Yeah…”

A small chunk of earth floats by in the distance as they both remain in place.

“We should, uh… go.” He moves past her at last, sliding a hand through his hair. 

She follows his hand with her eyes, and his steps with her own. 


	2. Missing Scene: The Road Home

Lance strikes a confident pose. “Guys, you’re all overthinking this. I know exactly where everyone should go.”

Allura perks up at this. Certainly he won’t stick her with a companion that would drive her mad. He proceeds to spend the next few dobashes sorting out the passengers. When he finishes, and they all head off to their respective lions, Allura falls in line beside him for a tick.

“Lance, just curious… why the wolf?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Because I have the cow and Hunk has the mice.” He beams at her.

“Indeed, but why _me_?”

They stop before the open maw of Red. Romelle lags behind them, gaping up at the giant war machine.

Lance scratches the back of his neck. “Well, I know you’re a bit weirded out by Kaltenecker, and I wanted Hunk to have the mice ‘cos they’re fun and they’ll help distract him. You know how anxious he can get sometimes. Keith has Coran, so the wolf couldn’t go with Keith.”

Allura furrows her brow as she considers the path of logic he’s leading her down. “I see. But Coran should ride with me and the wolf should ride with Keith. Doesn’t that make more sense?”

“I thought so at first. But Keith has Shiro and Krolia--”

“He gets three passengers? How’s that fair. I wouldn’t mind getting to know Krolia.”

“I don’t want to separate him from his mother, and considering we almost lost Shiro, I don’t want to separate them either.”

Allura’s hand finds her chest and her heart flutters. She’s being puerile, that much is clear. The mice told her that Lance fancies her. If that’s so, honestly, how could he possibly? She smiles at him, affectious and earnest.  “That’s actually very sweet of you, Lance.”

He falters at her smile and just stares at her mouth. His eyes dart up to hers, and he swallows thickly. “Wh--what do you mean ‘actually?’”

She ducks her head shyly, recalling their earlier conversation that led down a similar path.

“What’s this?” Romelle asks somewhere far away. No. Somewhere very close, and both Allura and Lance realize in the same moment that the refugee Altean is about to activate the manual jaw-closing-mechanism behind Red’s front right tooth.

“Romelle, no!” they shout in unison.

Romelle stops short, hand hovering in midair. “Sorry.”

Allura looks back to Lance. “You’ve obviously thought this through. I’m just, you know… still curious.”

“Well, the three of them need some entertainment. Things have been so serious for them, right? Coran is funny as hell, and he knows a lot of stuff. They won’t ever get bored with him there,” Lance supplies.

Right. He’s still answering the question about Coran riding with Keith. Allura looks over his shoulder at Romelle, trying to ignore the persistent pang of… of jealousy that has crept in. Why wouldn’t Lance want a ‘cool’ wolf at his side? Romelle is gorgeous. Perhaps some things won’t change.

Lance shuffles his feet. The wolf has joined them and stands at her side, calm and haunting.

“Uh, you mentioned not wanting the wolf, I know,” he starts, and he’s suddenly quite nervous. “But he’s, uh, he’s protective. He’s strong. I think you’ll be safest with him.”

Allura nearly chokes trying not to gasp at him. The asteroid they stand on feels as though it keeps moving without her, and she _wants_ to fall. But something in her heart grows hard and cold, seals her in place. An echo of betrayal seeps in. It’s not wariness of Lance that arises, but a wariness of herself. A voice that scolds her--she’s not deserving of such unconditional support. She looks down and smiles despite the storm in her heart.

He tilts his head, studying her. “N-n-not that you need protecting or anything like that! You’re capable of anything. You’re--” He trails off as she takes a step closer.

“It’s okay,” she says as reassuring as she can muster.  She suddenly feels as awkward as he must by their proximity, and scans the area instead of looking up at him like she wants to. The others appear to have already boarded their respective lions, and Romelle lingers nearby petting the wolf.

He inhales deeply. “Welp, we should get going.”

She agrees.

As Allura takes her seat in Blue, she imagines Romelle flying with Lance for days on end. Why would he pick her as his passenger? If what the mice told her was true, is this an attempt to move on? Or perhaps he's protecting Romelle from spending too much time with someone who let Lotor into her heart. Lance might not have put as much thought into it, but he intuitively knew things might get strange between them, and they both likely needed some time away from the subject. Tension enters her brow, her eyes prickle. She wouldn't cry about this anymore, she told herself. Eventually Romelle will join her, at least Allura hopes so, and they'll have a good chat about everything. The tears ebb as she imagines a new friendship born from the ashes.

Late one evening after Romelle has fallen asleep, Lance opens a private communication. His image appears on her dash, surprising her from slipping into slumber. 

"Hey Allura, is it a bad time?"

She smiles sleepily at him. "No, not at all."

"Good." He smiles back with heavy eyes. He looks as tired as she feels.

"Was there something you needed?"

He shrugs. "Not really. It's been a long, frustrating day as you know." 

Allura recalls the shared aggravation with their respective flying companions. "Indeed..."

He leans in to whisper. "I picked her 'cos I thought she'd be the least annoying one."

They both struggle to keep their laughter from waking the others. 

"She's nice though. Pretty," Allura says, and doesn't realize that it's a bit leading until after the comment is already hanging in the air. 

His expression shifts to something unreadable, which is peculiar for him. It unnerves her enough that she fidgets with the arm of her seat, ears practically on fire.

"Aaannndd?" 

" _Nothing_."

Lance smirks. Oh, she'd like to wipe it right off his face, but her own mouth twists in an effort to keep from smirking right back at him. 

"She asks a lot of questions. She's a bit scared of all this. I'm used to it, I like talking," he drawls, gesturing vaguely. "That's all there is to it."

Allura sinks a bit in her seat, relieved and also--for about the tenth time--touched by how effortlessly thoughtful he is. 


	3. Missing Scene: The Way Forward

Allura stares through the campfire’s glow as the weight of their conversation about Lotor pulls her further within herself. Acxa’s similar story of his deception brings her no comfort. Did he also hold her hand and tell her that she had the power to bring peace to the universe? Did he kiss her too, or was she simply a loyal apprentice? Acxa seemed just as shocked as Allura that Lotor created that monstrosity under their noses. How ever the former general defined her relationship Lotor, to know that others share this betrayal will always weigh heavy on her heart. 

Her gaze wanders from the fire to the weary faces of her friends. Her companions in this dire fight for the safety of all they hold dear. They have given so much of themselves, risked their lives, and they will continue to do so. Her fingers curl, but there’s no give of fabric and flesh as her nails grind against the paladin armor. She pulls in a deep breath, and at last she regards Lance--who sits so close, but not close enough. 

At the Omega Shield, he went beyond risk for her. His heart had stopped beating, and hers might as well have right with it. Never had she recounted the shared moments of someone she treasured so fast before; there was no way she’d let that be the end of them. 

Coran told her how he grew so restless and afraid while she was off at Oriande. His first reaction when Lotor had been declared Emperor was to ask when he would begin freeing planets. While in the cell earlier, he rushed to Pidge’s defense without regard for his own safety--once more willing to sacrifice for his friends. All of this and more shows how selfless and  _ good  _ he is. How much he has grown to reach his true potential, which was in him all along. Why else would the blue lion have trusted him?

Allura stands. Lance looks up at her as her shadow falls over him. There’s a question in his eyes, which she answers with a tilt of her head.

“I’m going for a walk. Come along?”

He rises silently and they head toward the cavern exit. 

“Careful out there,” says Keith. 

Allura smiles at him, and pulls the curtain aside.

The temperature has plunged dramatically with nightfall. Allura ducks her head against the cold and considers letting down her hair for warmth. The starlit sky spans overhead as they reach a cliff overlooking a giant valley. It’s such a dramatic drop, that the ground below is swathed in shadows from the cliff, making it appear as though they are standing at the threshold of existence.

“Is something on your mind, princess?” Lance asks as they sit down side by side a few feet from the cliff’s edge.

“A lot of things are, yes.” 

“Yeah. Same here, I guess.” He distractedly brushes dust and rubble from a large stone next to him.

“It’s still not easy to think about what happened with Lotor. I was beginning to feel, I don’t know. The sting of it is fading. Yet hearing Acxa went through something similar, it just brought all of that back. I don’t feel hurt as much as I feel angry. I can’t believe I was so easily manipulated.”

Lance’s brow furrows and he looks over at her hand. His fingers flex as he sorts out what he wants to say. “I think, uh, he probably did have feelings for you. So some of what he said wasn’t a lie. Maybe you saw through to what good there could be in him, and he was drawn to that about you.” He pauses and adds quietly. “Anyone would be.”

“But it wasn’t enough.”

“No. And that’s not your fault, Allura. It wasn’t Acxa’s fault either.” 

“What’s done is done anyway. Like you told me, I need to make peace with my mistakes and carry on. I thought I had been, but this just--” she lets out a shaky sigh. 

“It’s okay. It hasn’t been that long. This is like, a stumble.”

“Thanks for helping me back up, then.” She smiles softly at him.

He stares at her, and his chest rises and falls for a beat before he responds with one of of his sweeter smiles. The half-lidded one where all of his features are at ease making her stomach feel all fluttery. 

“No problem,” he says.

A cold wind sweeps up their backs and practically turns their necks and ears to ice. They shiver and scoot closer together to brace against the breeze. 

“We should head back. We’re going to turn into icicles out here,” he says, and she catches a hint of disappointment in his tone.

“That, or we’ll be blown off of the cliff, goodness.”

They laugh, and help each other to their feet. 

Allura feels much lighter on their walk back to camp, which they prolong by following a natural path down the farther side of the cliff and around an irregular rock formation. A full varga or more, it takes them. Time filled with banter and reminiscing about what’s good about this life they lead.

Not long enough, Allura thinks as she pulls the makeshift curtain back from the mouth of the cave. She truly does have a pretty good time with him.


	4. Missing Scene: The Feud!

Several quintants have passed since their brush with Bob. Allura fights sleep as hypnotizing fields of stars blur past. She’s halfway through her watch rotation while the others enjoy a sleep cycle, and there are no more story crystals aboard the lion to keep her occupied. 

Things have, for the most part, been uneventful since the peculiar shared dream. But this has only made Lance’s… seeming avoidance of her more noticeable. He did not speak much to her during rest stops, and he should’ve appeared on her viewscreen by now like other times they shared first watch. They had a  _ Monsters and Mana _ side adventure going, which made the vargas fly by. A little tricky to play while piloting, but they stuck with the simpler version that didn’t require the altered reality board. 

The cargo bay door unlatches and slides open. Coran wanders out. “Allura, have you seen my--ah, there it is.” He reaches for something in her periphery. 

“You’re still awake?”

“I fell asleep, but it’s not the most comfortable cot in the sector. Having a bit of neck trouble.”

Allura simply sighs in recognition, and stares at the viewscreen where Lance’s image should appear. Should’ve already appeared…

“Is something the matter, princess?”

“I--” She catches her own reflection in the viewscreen glass. Quiznack, she’d been sulking. Well, if anyone would offer the best insight, it would be her personal advisor. “Have you noticed anything strange with Lance?”

Coran slides up next to her. “No, should I?” His tone belies a definite eagerness to find out where this conversation will head. 

“Maybe, maybe not. I might be imagining things.” 

Coran props against the pilot’s chair, playful curiosity replaced with that endearing, fatherly demeanor that makes it difficult for her to keep things to herself. Fallaflies dance in her stomach, and she waits for them to settle before she elaborates. 

“I feel as though I’ve said or done something to make him distance himself from me,” she says.

“Why do you think that?”

“Before we found Acxa, we talked a few times after everyone had gone to sleep. We talked about our families and he had a lot to say about Earth. Don’t look at me like that!”

“Really…” Coran’s joyous expression neutralizes. “I see. You were out for quite a long walk with him that once.”

Allura hides her face, pretending to adjust settings on Blue’s flight deck. “Y-yes… He seemed like himself then, but after that? I don’t know...” Vulnerability sets in, and she isn’t sure where she’s going with this anymore. “Ever since we parted ways with Acxa, Lance and I haven’t spoken that much. We had that strange dream together, and-- oh no. That must be it.”

“What is it?”

“The dream with Bob. Lance was repeatedly referred to as the--” she cringes, “dumb one. And I didn’t say anything in his defense. I feel like I would have if it were real? Yet I thought it was real and I still didn’t. I even snapped at him, and…” she blows air upward, dislodging a few strands of hair. “His feelings are probably hurt. It’s been quintants! That’s it. I should apologize right away.” She reaches forward.

“Hang on.”  He smooths the edge of his moustache in thought. “I don’t think Lance is the type of fellow to hold grudges, especially not for you. And we did discuss Lotor with Acxa. Perhaps he’s just giving you a bit of space?”

“Giving me space…? What good would that do? He’s my friend; he has no need to distance himself because of Lotor. Why would that be necessary at all?”

Coran opens his mouth to reply, but another voice cuts in.

“Can you shut the door? I hear every word you’re saying in there,” whines Romelle. “And that’s the last person I wanna hear about right now.”

Allura’s stomach flips with embarrassment. “S-sorry!”

“And if I could help out a bit here--Lance’s in love with you and you don’t feel the same.” Romelle’s statement rings through the cockpit and washes over Allura like a shockwave. To hear someone say that out loud--

“He’s not… he’s not in  _ love _ with me. Where would you get that idea?” She sounds so childish to her own ears. The mice told her this, that he ‘has feelings.’ They said he thinks she would not believe him, and here she is, not believing it! She’s deflecting, she knows. She doesn’t want to think of her own feelings about this, not yet.  _ Oh, quintessence, please guide me... _

Romelle shuffles into the cockpit, and laughs through a great big yawn. “Why are you all so frustrating! Listen, I asked him to tell me about everyone. He had so much to say about you he wouldn’t stop. Can’t wait for you to meet his family, you’re so powerful, you learned how to fly Blue so quickly, you’re wise, you’ve lost so much but stay strong through it all, he can’t wait to show you all the fun relaxing things there are to do on Earth, and so on and so on.” She gestures wildly, mocking pantomimes that almost make Allura giggle. Romelle sighs in exasperation. “I won’t even get in to what he said about your eyes. Look, he didn’t say he’s in love with you but...  he said it without saying it, and I wish he would’ve just  _ said _ it, because after a time I started feeling like he was talking to himself. I got bored and started playing with controls and that snapped him out of it real quick, but by that point I was too fascinated and things got a bit carried away...” She approaches one of Blue’s panels, as though reliving the scene, and Coran gently guides her away from it.

Allura slouches deeper and deeper in her seat with every detail. This is too much, too personal. How would Lance feel about her knowing all of this? Romelle’s tale settles over her shoulders until she feels heavy and uncertain.

Coran studies her for a tick. “Sounds like you’ve got quite the phanzle whicket to sort out, princess.” He then turns to Romelle. “We should get some rest, Allura needs to focus on her watch.” He squeezes Allura’s shoulder affectionately, and leans in close so only she can hear. “Talk to him; it’ll work out. It’s Lance, after all. Goodnight.”

The pair of them head back to the cargo hold and she sinks even further in the seat as the door closes behind them. Her gaze trails over the various readouts on the screen before her, and then settles on the comm button. There’s a squeezing in her heart she can’t escape, and she’s not sure what it means anymore. Fear, grief, love… it all feels the same. 

With Coran’s words resonating in her mind, she opens a visual channel to the red lion. Lance answers, and a calmness washes over her, his surprised smile softening all of her edges. He was listening to music--a melody surrounds him, something soft and a bit somber.

“Hey!” he sits up and quickly turns down the volume.

“Hi Lance.” She smiles brightly. “What were you listening to?”

“Oh, just… some Earth music I picked up at the space mall last time. It’s old, but nice. Familiar.” 

“I’d like to hear more of it sometime. When we get to Earth, please share with me your favorite songs?”

“I’d… I--” He looks touched beyond reckoning, with his hand raking through his hair and a thick swallow. “Yeah! Y-you bet.”

She bites her lip, trying to assess if this is a good moment to bring up her feelings. Should they talk a bit more first? Should she just come out and say it? The colorful bloom of a nebula passes by. Lance remarks on how beautiful it is, but she’s too distracted to take a closer look.

“Lance, I… I wanted to talk to you about something.”

He stiffens, hands dropping to his control handles. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry, first of all, for how Bob treated you. You’re not dumb, in fact, you possess a certain kind of smarts even the most intelligent people lack. You’re intuitive, and perceptive, when it comes to.. To other, uh, people.” She fumbles a little, feeling nervous. 

“Oh, I’d forgotten about all that.”

Allura covers her mouth with her hand. “Oh no, I brought it back then. I’m so sorry, Lance.”

He waves it away. “Don’t sweat it. But you can keep going. I liked hearing the other stuff.” He grins.

Allura laughs a little behind her hand, which she then uses to absently stroke her collar as she gathers her next thoughts. He watches her in utter silence. 

“I, um… also want you to know… that--”

An alarm blares. Their watch is over. Any moment now, Pidge and Hunk will awaken to take over.

“I really like talking with you,” Allura blurts, hurrying before they are joined by the others. 

Lance gives a sleepy smile. “Me too, Allura. Sweet dreams.”


End file.
